
5^3 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 709 182 3 • 



TusomxUCeLA 




MUU of §nv iJovH. 



COMMUNICATION FKOM THEGOVEMOR, 



AND REPORT OP THE 



COMMISSION APrOLNTED BY THE PRESIDENT 



TO DETEUMINt AND ASCERTAIN Tllli 



QUOTA OF THIS STATE, 



tTNDEB THI 



DIFFERENT CALLS FOR TROOPS. 



I 



TEAKSMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE MARCH 1, 1884. 



A J. B A N Y : 

COMSTOCK A CASSIDY, PRINTERS. 
1864. 



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7.3 



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tatt of Srli) Bork. 



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:N"o. 96. 



IN ASSEMBLY,- 

March 1, 1864. 



COMMUNICATION 

FROM THE OOVERNOR, AND REPORT OF THE COMMISSION 
APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT TO DETERMINE AND 
ASCERTAIN THE QUOTA OF THIS STATE UNDER THE 
DIFFERENT CALLS FOR TROOPS. 

STATE OF NEW YORK: 

Executive Department, ? 

Albany, March \st, 1864. \ 

To the Legislature : 

In my Annual Message, in referring to the enrolment and the 
draft, I alluded to the inequality of the enrolment as follows : 

"New York is required to furnish more than other States in 
proportion to its population. This is shown by the following 
tables : 

The average ratio of enrolment to the male population in the 

Western States, is 19 per ct. 

In New Jersey - .. 20 " 

In Pennsylvania 18| " 

In the New England States it is , 17 " 

In the State of New York it is 22 " 

Massachusetts, with ten Congressmen and a popula- 
tion of 1,231,006, has to furnish, under the recent 

call for 300,000 men 15,126 

The first nine Congressional districts of the State of 
New York, with a population of 1,218,949, are 

called upon for 25,166 

The quota of Vermont and New Hampshire, with a 
united population of 641,1*71, and six Representa- 
tives in Congress, and four Senators, is 7,099 

The quota of two Congressional districts in New York 

the 4th and 6th, with a population of 283,229, is.. 7,628 

[Assem, No. 96.J 1 



2 [Assembly 

It is not claimed that this inequality grows out of any defici- 
ency of volunteers heretofore furnished by this State. 

Messrs. James A. Bell, 0. Kellogg, and Wm. 11. Bogart, at my 
request, called the attention of the Secretary of War to this sub- 
ject. He promptly appointed William F. Allen, of this State, 
John Love, of Indiana, and Chauncey Smith, of Massachusetts, a 
commission to determine upon some fair mode for correcting 
these glaring inequalities." 

This commission, composed of two citizens of other States, 
with one from the State of New York, have come to a unanimous 
conclusion, that the enrolment for the State of New York, under 
the Act of March 3d, 1863, was "imperfect, erroneous and exces- 
sive, especially so with reference to the cities of New York and 
Brooklyn." 

The commission, after due consideration, recommend, in view 
of the inaccuracies of the enrolment, that the quota of 60,378 
men allotted to this State, under the call of the President of 
October l7th, 1863, be reduced to 52,858, with a corresponding 
reduction under the call of February 1st, 1864. ' 

I am happy to state that I have received information from 
Washington, that the quota of this State, for the calls of 500,000 
men-, has been reduced, as recommended by the commission — 
such reduction amounting to between thirteen and fourteen 
thousand men. 

In a crisis like the present, the saving of so many men to the 
industrial interests of the State, should not be lightly estimated. 
The labor of thirteen thousand men, distributed throughout the 
State, will afford great relief, especially in the rural districts, 
where farm laborers are now, with difficulty, obtained. 

While the State pays a bounty of $75 to each volunteer, local 
bounties vary from $300 to $600 per man. In a financial point 
of view, this reduction therefore results in a saving of at leiast 
five inillions of dollars to the people of New York. 

It is gratifying to me to be able to bear testimony to the aid 
received, in the adjustment of the matter at Washington, from 
several Senators and a number of Repi-esentatives in Congress. 

It is also due to the Secretary of War, to state, that he has 
shown a willingness to do justice to the State of New York, in 
this matter, by the appointment of an able and impartial com- 
mission. 



No. 96.] 3 

The following extracts from the report of the commissioners 
show the views held by them : 

" The commission, after a full investigation, and in view of all 
the facts elicited, are unanimously of the opinion, that the enrol- 
ment in the State of New York is imperfect and erroneous, ex- 
cessive in some districts, and possibly too small in others, and 
certainly excessive in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and 
especially as compared with other States, and cannot be relied 
upon as a just and equitable basis for the assignment of the 
quota of the State of New York, or among the several districts 
thereof. Justice to the enrolling officers and agents requires, 
that it should be distinctly stated, that their fidelity or integ- 
rity is by no means impeached by any inaccuracies that may ex- 
ist in the enrolment. They were the necessary result of the 
execution of the law under the circumstances and with the means 
at the command of the officers, and it is not perceived how they 
could be avoided." 

" In conclusion, the commission are of the opinion, and so re- 
port, that the quota assignee! to the State of New York, and the 
quota assigned to the several districts of the cities of New York 
and Brooklyn are erroneous and excessive, and should be re- 
duced." 

HORATIO SEYMOUR. 



The special commission appointed by the Secretary of 
War, by order, bearing date the fifth day of December, 
1863, " to revise the enrolment and quotas of the city 
■ and State of New York, and report whether there be 
any . and what errors and irregularities therein, and 
what corrections, if any, should be made." 

Respectfully 

REPORT : 

That in pursuance of said order the commission met and 
organized in the city of New York, on the 16th day of December, 
1863, and appointed Leander Babcock, Esq., of the city of 
Oswego, clerk, that they remained in session during that and 
the two succeeding days, and after conferences with General 
William Hays, acting Assistant Provost Marshal General on 



4 [Assembly 

duty in the city of Naw York, and Col. Nugent, liis predecessor, 
and determining so far as they could ujjon the mode of proced- 
ure, and what information and documents would be required to 
enable them to discharge the duties devolved upon them, 
adjourned to meet at the same place on Tuesday, the 5th day of 
January, 18G4. 

During the recess. General Love, one of the said commission, 
at the request and by the direction of his associates, visited 
Washington and Albany to confer with the War Department of 
the General Government, and the proper authorities of the State 
of New York, and obtain such information and documents as 
then could be procured, and subsequently Mr. Smitli, another 
member of the commission, at the request of his associates, 
visited Washington for a like purpose. 

The commission again convened in the city of New York, on 
said 5th day of January, 1864, and have continued in session 
from day to day until the present time, making such progress in 
the work assigned them as they could with the means and in- 
formation at hand, or within their reach. 

There has been some delay in the investigations and examina- 
tions for the want of information and documents from the War 
Department, which could not at once be furnished, and some of 
which had to be obtained by the department from different 
branches of the service or from other sources. This explanation 
is made not for the information of the War Department, but for 
the benefit of others interested in the action of the commission, 
and who may not be familiar with all the facts. 
■ The commission take pleasure in acknowledging the readiness 
and promptness with which Col. Fry, the Provost Marshal 
General of the United States, has furnished them with the docu- 
ments and information asked, and facilitated so far as he could 
all their labors. They have also received valuable aid' in the 
form of statistics and tables and estimates of the different classes 
of population in the several States, from Hon. Mr. Kennedy, of 
the Census Bureau, at Washington. 

They have also been attended from time to time by Col. 
Nugent, and have called l^efore them and examined the provost 
marshals of the several districts in the cities of New York and 
Brooklyn, who were in service and took part in the enrolment of 
1863. They were also assisted in their labors for a time by 
Capt. Turner, of the volunteer service, who was detailed by 



No. 96.] 5 

General Hays for tliat purpose, and they -would state generally 
that every desired aid and facility has been furnished by 
General Hays, and all under his command, or in any way con- 
nected with the military service. • 

Major J. B. Stonehouse, Assistant Adjutant General of the 
State of New York, has attended the commission upon several 
■occasions, and made valuable suggestions, and placed at the dis- 
posal of the commission such records and documents as were in 
the State offices. 

The object of the commission was 

First. To ascertaiu whether the enrolment of the city and 
State of New York was perfect and accurate, or so nearly so as 
to constitute a just and equitable basis for the assignment of 
quotas, and the apportionment of men to be furnished for the 
military service of the United States ; and 

Secondly. In case the enrolment should appear to be so mater- 
ially and substantially imperfect or erroneous, as not to form a 
proper basis for the purpose named, to determine whether it 
could be corrected and made perfect and complete, or reasonably 
so, that is, so corrected as to show with reasonable accuracy the 
actual number of men in the State and the several districts 
thereof, liable to be enrolled and to military service, under the 
act of Congress of March 3, 1863. 

An excessive enrolment in any State will not work an injust- 
ice as a basis for a draft, provided men are called into service 
only by drawing a given number or proportion of those enrolled, 
and onl}' such are taken as are obtained and held to service upon 
such draft. The enrolment of exempts, or the swelling of the list 
by fictitious names, or the names of non-residents, increases the 
number to be drawn from, and of course the number of names to 
be drawn, but the names improperly enrolled represent a like 
number in the draft and the names actually drawn, and thus 
balance the account. But if the number which the proportion 
called for would give is required to be furnished, either by 
repeating the draft until it is obtained, or by volunteers to be 
furnished by the State, it is obvious that an accurate enrolment 
is indispensable, and an excessive enrolment will operate to the 
prejudice of the State. 

For example, in a given district there are precisely 500 men 
belonging to the " first class," as defined in the " Conscription 
act," and these are all enrolled, and with them 500 who are non- 



6 [Assembly 

residents, aliens, or otherwise exempt. Upon an order for a 
draft of one-fifth, the government would be entitled to 100 men, 
and very likely would obtain but that number upon a draft from 
the whole 1000, although 200 names would be drawn. But if the 
draft is repeated or the district made to furnish volunteers until 
one-fifth of the 1000 are furnished, the government will get 200 
men instead of 100, that is two-fifths instead of one-fifth of the 
500 men properly enrolled. 

Again, if the enrolment of one State is excessive as compared 
with other Slates, it will not constitute a proper basis for the 
apportionment of men to be furnished by the several states for 
the United States military service, and whether one State enrolls 
more thanjhe proper number, or the other States enroll less, the 
result will be the same. For instance, suppose two districts, 
each containing precisely 1,000 men of the "first class," and who 
should be enrolled, and in one the whole 1,000 are enrolled, 
while in the other but 800 are enrolled ; upon a draft of one- 
fourth ordered upon the basis of the enrolment, the former dis- 
trict would furnish 250 men, while the latter would furnish but 
200. So that even upon a draft ordered upon an apportionment 
among the several States, in proportion to the number of men 
enrolled, or in any way upon the basis of the enrolment, it is 
indispensable to complete justice between the States that tha 
enrolment should bo substantially complete and perfect in all the 
States, that is that all should be enrolled who are liable to serve 
in the " National Forces," as defined by the act of Congress 
before mentioned. If the enrolment in any one State is defect- 
ive it will destroy the equality of the apportionment. 

In proceeding to ascertain the accuracy of the enrolment, the 
commission had before them the law of Congress under which the 
same was made, and the several orders emanating from the War 
Department to the officers charged with the enrolment, and called 
before them and examined upon interrogatories, and when deemed 
necessary orally, but without oath, the several provost marshals 
under whose immediate direction and supervision the enrolment 
in the cities of New York and Brooklyn was made. The result 
of this branch of the investigation accorded substantially Avith 
the suggestions of Colonel Fry in his report to the Secretary of 
AVar, dated November 17, 1863, that imperfections and errors 
must exist to a greater or less extent, for the reasons briefly sta- 
ted in that report. And to this the commission would add that 



No. 96.] 1 

these imperfections and errors will necessarily occur to a greater 
extent in a large city than in a rural district, and the more tran- 
sient and floating tlie population in a given district the greater 
the liability to an erroneous and excessive enrolment. Difficul- 
ties were encountered by the officers in making the enrolment in 
the "Metropolitan Districts," which did not exist certainly to so 
great an extent elsewhere. In the older settled and agricultural 
districts, the age, condition and liability to military service of 
every male citizen would be very likely known to the enrolling 
officer, so that little if any reliance need be placed upon informa- 
tion acquired while collecting the names or perfecting the enrolled 
lists, while the officer could, in the nature of things, know but 
little if anything of the great mass of individuals in the more 
populous districts and large cities. 

In some districts the officer would be compelled to rely mainly 
upon what he could learn upon inquiries made while traversing 
his district in the discharge of this particular duty, and bearing 
iu mind, as he should, the great aversion of the masses to the 
enrolment as a preliminary to a draft, he would rec(5ive with dis- 
trust and suspicion every statement which would tend to keep 
the name of an individual from the list of the enrolled, and in a 
majority of cases would, in the language of the officers examined, 
" give the government the benefit of the doubt," and enroll the 
man, leaving him to establish his exemption before the enrolling 
board. 

Again, questions of alienage, physical disability, &c., could not 
be decided by the enrolling officers, but were left to the decision 
of the board. In fact, they were not passed upon until after the 
draft, and in respect to those who, when drafted, claimed exemp- 
tion upon the grounds suggested. Indeed, these questions cannot 
be either well or satisfactorily decided in the progress of an- 
enrolment. " Alienage " cannot be well determined except upon 
an investigation to some extent judicial; and "physical disa- 
bility " can in most cases only be passed upon by a competent 
surgeon. Residence and age may, in some and perhaps most 
instances, be determined by the enrolling officer, if sufficient time 
and opportunity for investigation be given. 

To speak particularly of the city of New York, several causes 
operated, it may be said, necessarily to produce an erroneous and 
excessive enrollment. 

1st. There is in the city a large floating population (said by 



8 [Assembly 

some to amount to 30,000 or over), having no permanent resi- 
dence, or none that can be satisfactorily ascertained, and many 
moving from place to place, and whose proper place of enrolment, 
even if liable at all, will always be doubtful. This class would be 
very likely enrolled wherever found, and in as many districts as 
they should ,be found in while the enrolment is being made. 

2d. At all -times the city has been the resting place and tem- 
porary abode of a large body of alien emigrants, and this class 
has largely increased since the existence of the war, as emigra- 
tion has been greatly stimulated by the high price of labor and 
other causes ; and while there has been a large drain from the 
foreign population into the army, the aggregate number now in 
the city is probably not less than at former periods, and the pro- 
portion of aliens, that is those who have not taken any steps to 
become naturalized, it is thought is larger than before. This 
class are all necessarily enrolled, for the reason suggested before, 
that the enrolling officer had no power to pass upon the question 
of alienage. 

3d. In some portions of the city, as in other places, there are 
large manufacturing establishments and other branches of busi- 
ness carried on, employing many men, and it is fair to presume 
that many of these employees, residents of other districts, have 
been enrolled at the place of their work and perhaps also at their 
residence ; and this for the reason that the oificer could not, with 
the means at his command, satisfactorily determine the proper 
place of enrolment, and the individual perhaps has "winked " if 
not connived at an enrolment in the wrong rather than in the 
right district, for the obvious reason that a draft in the former 
would not compel him to service. 

One fact should be stated in this connection, which was dis- 
closed by the examination of one of the provost marshals in the 
city of New York, exemplifying very strongly the difficulties in 
the way of a correct enrolment in thff view of that officer. In 
order to " correct " the enrolment of his district after the 
draft of 1863, he resorted to the election poll lists of his district 
and transferred over 5,000 names from such lists to the enrol- 
ment lists without inquiry as to age or condition. Of course a 
faithful officer would not have taken this step had there been any 
mode or means at his command in or by which an accurate enrol- 
mient could have been made. 

The time allowed for making the enrolment, while it was ample 



No 96.] 9 

for the mere collection of names, was entirely too limited for such 
inquiries and investigations as might have been made the better 
to enable the officers to exercise the very restricted discretionary 
powers vested in them as to who were the proper subjects of the 
enrolment. The law itself, as well as the orders issued by the 
War Department for its execulion, and of which no complaint is 
made, as they were entirely proper in the emergency, necessarily 
compelled an excessive enrolment, that is the enrolment of aliens, 
the ph_y.sical]y incompetent, and other exempts, and did not and 
could not effectually guard against the enrolment of pon-residents 
and those not within the proper ages, or other errors and imper- 
fections, and the consequences of these defects in the system (if 
defects they are) are of course more serious and more apparent 
in cities than in the country. 

The commission, by way of testing the regularity and correct- 
ness of the enrolment of the State of New York, instituted a 
comparison between it and that of the other States. They ascer- 
tained the whole number within the ages and description of those 
composing the "first class" of the "national forces," under the 
" conscription act," in each State, by an estimate and calculation 
based upon the census of 1860, and upon the principle adopted 
by the census bureau at Washington. Perfect accuracy is not 
claimed for this estimate, but it approximates sufficiently near 
the truth for the purpose for which it is used, and no injustice is 
done to any State b^ any comparison based upon it. The com- 
mission then ascertained the percentage actually enrolled, of the 
number thus estimated belonging to the "first class," in each 
State, and in each district of the State of New York. The 
tables annexed, marked "A" and " B," give the result of this 
comparison. The descrepancies cannot, in the judgment of the 
commission, be explained upon an}- theory which has been sug- 
gested. The variances are entirely disproportioned, and in some 
instances, in direct opposition to the census exhibit of the rela- 
tive proportion of males and females, as well as of the males 
within the military ages in the several States. 

The lowest enrolments are in Delaware, Rhode Island and Ver- 
mont, while the largest is in New York, and they range from 575 
in Delaware, to 1,350 in one district in New York city, to each 
thousand of the " first class " of the males estimated as above. 
The average enrolment to the thousand, in the State of New 

[Assem. No. 96.] 2 



10 [Assembly 

York, is 818, and in Vermont 614, and in all the States exclusive 
of New York, 721, and including New York, 731. The average 
enrolment to the thousand, in all the New England States, is 637 ; 
in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, 764, and in Michigan, Illi- 
nois and Indiana, 767. The result of this grouping of the seve- 
ral States as well as a reference to the comparative enrolment in 
each State, shows conclusively that there has been no uniformity 
in the enrolment in the several States, or even in the different 
districts of the same State. If the same proportion of those 
estimated as above belonging to the first class, had been enrolled 
in New York as the average enrolment in the other States, the 
enrolment in New York would have been 380,822, instead of 
427,469. Most of this excess is in the cities of New York and 
Brooklyn. Other things being equal, that is, there being nothing 
in the character of the population of New York to cause it to 
differ from the other States and districts, we should expect to 
find the enrolment of so large a city and State about on an aver- 
age with the other States ; that the enrolment would be a medium 
or mean between the two extremes, and not the most extreme. 
Nothing will be found in the character of the population to 
account for the difference that actually exists. In the city as 
well as in the entire State, the females exceed the males in num- 
ber. In New York city it is true that there is a greater propor- 
tion of males within the military ages than in some other dis- 
tricts, but this is more than compensated by the larger number 
of aliens and other exempts found in the city. So that there is 
nothing in the character of the population of the city or State 
of New York to call for a larger enrolment than is made in the 
other States. 

The result of the draft was resorted to as another test of the 
enrolment, it being supposed that if the enrolment was uniform 
and equal in the several States and districts the result of the 
draft would be substantially the same in all. 

Upon investigation it was found that in the districts where the 
enrolment was the largest, and especially in those districts where, 
for the reasons suggested, if anywhere an excessive enrolment 
might be looked for, the results of the draft were the least favor- 
able to the government. The fewest men were obtained and the 
greatest number failed to report or have since been found. The 
inference is that many of those enrolled and drafted were non- 
residents or had no existence at all, or for some other reason 



No. 96.] 11 

■were improperly placed upon the enrolment. The consequence 
is that the government is the loser by an excessive or defective 
enrolment in this, that it does not get the men wanted or expected, 
from any draft from it. A table annexed, marked "C," shows 
the results of the draft in several of the States and districts and 
exemplifies the truth of the suggestions. 

The commission, after a full investigation, and in view of all 
the facts elicited, are unanimously of the opinion that the enrol- 
ment in the State of New York is imperfect and erroneous, exces- 
sive in some districts, and possibly too small in others, and 
certainly excessive in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and 
especially as compared with other States, and cannot be relied 
upon as a just and equitable basis for the assignment of the 
quota of the State of New York, or among tlie several districts 
thereof. Justice to the enrolling officers and agents requires 
that it should be distinctly stated, that their fidelity or integrity 
is by no means impeached by any inaccuracies that may exist in 
the enrolment. They were the necessary result of the execution 
of the law under the circumstances, and with the means at the 
command of the officers, and it is not perceived how, they could 
have been avoided. 

2d. The second subject of enquiry was, whether, and if so, by 
what means, and in what manner, the enrolment could be cor- 
rected, so as to make it a just and proper basis for the assign- 
ment of quotas. A new enrolment was of course out of the 
question, and could one have been made, it is not perceived how 
the difficulties before encountered could have been overcome, or 
the mistakes and errors of the first enrolment avoided. The 
resort to the poll lists was an attempt by an experienced officer, 
familiar with the enrolment from the first, to " correct" the enrol- 
ment in his district. The same causes of error and imperfection 
still exist and are at work, and would undoubtedly produce the 
same results. The difficulty in the first enrolment was not in 
the enrolling agents, but in the system, and means, and appli- 
ances at the command of the agents. 

The commission was unable to devise any process or means to 
correct the enrolment, and make it what it should be, as a reli- 
able and satisfactory basis for the adjustment of the quotas. 

Whatever might be done in this direction would necessarily 
be by estimates and calculations, and these would proceed upon 
some assumed data, so that there would be nothing reliable in 



12 [Assembly 

any result that should be attained. At best, the estimate would 
be the result of a guess, or proceed upon some arbitrary rule 
which it might be supposed would equalize the enrolment of the 
State of New York with that of the other States. But the 
result would not inspire any confidence as to its correctness, 
either absolutely or comparatively. If the New York enrolment 
should be made to conform to the average of the other States, 
to wit: 721 to each 1,000 of the "first class," it would be the 
result of a rule adopted for convenience, and without foundation 
in reason or principle. Such a correction would leave the enrol- 
ment and quota of Now York larger than that of the New Eng- 
land States, and would make it smaller than that of Pennsylvania 
and some of the Western States, with nothing in the character 
of the population to justify the discrimination. The. same re- 
marks will apply with like force to any other plan or process for 
equalizing or "correcting" the enrolment of New York by esti- 
mates and calculations. 

The commission was therefore unable to correct the enrolment 
and make it right, or substantially or comparatively so, and as 
the quota assigned upon an enrolment imperfect and erroneous, 
is necessarily erroneous, and may be unjust, they were compelled 
to resort to some other means to correct it. 

The facts and figures show conclusively that the enrolments of 
the cities of New York and Brooklyn are excessive, and the com- 
mission are of the opinion that any enrolment made by faithful 
agents, with the present limitations upon their power and discre- 
tion, and with their present helps and means, must be excessive, 
and cannot constitute a proper basis for apportionment of men 
to be furnished upon a call for volunteers. 

The quota assigned to the city and State of New York, under 
the call of October 11, 1863, being therefore excessive, the next 
enquiry was, in what way the error could be corrected and the 
quota made right. Three methods were suggested : 
. 1st. To adjust it upon the basis and in proportion to the entire 
male population. 2d. Upon the basis and in proportion to the 
male population between the ages of 20 and 45, and 3d. Upon 
the basis and in proportion to the entire population. 

The first two methods were rejected and the third adopted, for 
the following reasons among others : 

1. It was less favorable to the city and State of New York 
than either of the other two, and yet, while it was so, it was a 



No. 96.] 13 

a rule of which the State could not complain, as it was a rule by 
which other benefits and burthens are distributed among the 
States. 

2. A call for volunteers is, in one sense, a tax upon the States 
and communities. Large bounties have to be paid to obtain 
the men, and States and communities act upon this established 
fact, and by tax compel each man to contribute his share, so that 
the burthen falls as directly upon property as if Congress had 
laid a direct tax for the same purpose. In this aspect repre- 
sentative population is a constitutional basis for the apportion, 
ment of this burthen. 

In all the acts of Congress, thus far passed upon the subject 
of raising volunteers by calls upon the several States, population 
has been made the basis of the apportionment. Acts of July 22, 
1861, July 25, 1861, and July 17, 1862, are explicit on the 
subject. These acts are not repealed and still apply to any calls 
made under them, and whether they should govern the call of 
October 17, 1863, is not for the commission to decide. They are 
only referred to as expressions of the judgment of the Legisla- 
ture of the proper basis for a call for volunteers, when no other 
rule is prescribed. • 

4. While taking either of the other methods, the results might 
be varied in some of the States, the method adopted will, it is 
thought, place the burthen where it can best be borne as a tax, 
to some extent, on property, and {produce no hardship anywhere. 

Without questioning or calling in question the construction of 
the conscription act, in the orders and calls made under it, the 
commission in view of the fact that the enrolment is clearly and 
confessedly inaccurate and imperfect, (and in the city of New 
York excessive) are unanimously of the opinion that the popula- 
tion constitute the only safe and proper basis for the assignment 
of quotas and the apportionment of men to be furnished by the 
State of New York upon a call for volunteers, and while no 
other basis than the enrolment is recommended in any draft that 
may be ordered, the commission are unanimously of the opinion 
and recommend that in any case, if a State or district will and 
do furnish their just share and proportion of men required under 
any call or order for a draft, in proportion to population, such 
State or district should be held to have fully complied with the 
call and be relieved from the draft. 

The commission fully believe that in no other way can justice 



14 (Assembly 

be done or satisfaction given, and that by any other procedure 
the calls and drafts will be regarded as oppressive, and become 
odious. Upon the basis suggested, which is commended by its 
equity and fairness, and is believed not to be opposed to law, 
there can be no doubt that every call for men will everywhere be 
responded to cheerfully and heartily and neither men nor money 
for the suppression of the rebellion and restoration of the union 
in its integrity, be withheld or given grudgingly or stintedly. 

Nothing but an appearance of wrong can create an opposition 
in the popular heart and mind, to any demand of the Govern- 
ment for aid in this the time of its great struggle. 

In conclusion, the commissioners are of opinion, and so report, 
that the quota assigned to the State of New York and the quotas 
assigned to the several districts of the cities of New York and 
Brooklyn are erroneous and excessive, and should be reduced. 
That the just and fair quota of the State of New York, under 
the call for 300,000 men, in October, 18G3, is 52,858, and that 
the State should not, under that call, be required to furnish a 
greater number of men as volunteers. 

The commission has prepared a table vvhich is annexed to and 
makes a part of this report, and is liarked " D " in which the 
proper quota above stated is apportioned among the several dis- 
tricts of the State of New York, and they report that said quotas, 
so apportioned to the several districts, are, in their opinion, the 
just and equitable quotas for the said districts respectively, and 
they unanimously recommend the adoption of this " table of cor- 
rected quotas " in lieu and correction of the assignment of quotas 
heretofore made by the War Department, regarding the call as 
for volunteers. 

All which is repectfully submitted. 

Dated New York, Feh. 16, 1864. 

(Signed,) W. F. ALLEN, 
JOHN LOVE, 
CHAUNCEY SMITH. 
To Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 



ko. 96.] 



t5 



TABLE A, 

Showing the ratio of enrolled men in the first class of the national 
forces in the several States. 



STATES. 



Total males. 
20 to 35. 



Total males, 
35 to 45. 



First class 
of national 
forces. 



No. enrolled 
in 1st class 



Ratio. 



Connecticut . . . . 

Delaware 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Maine 

Massachusetts . . 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

New Hampshire . 

New Jersey 

New York 

Ohio 

Pennsylvania. . . . 
Khode Island . . , 

Vermont 

Wisconsin 



68,006 

13,271 

236,572 

164,776 

84,525 

72,908 

157,532 

100,412 

25,960 

37,407 

82,842 

482,715 

276,098 

340,100 

21,868 

35,471 

93,624 



28,327 

5,751 

98,798 

67,917 

39,020 

34,070 

77,032 

45,493 

17,215 

18,484 

39,747 

239,543 

124,259 

159,776 

10,589 

17,635 

49,535 



2,284,087 



1,073,191 



Batio excluding New York. 



62,727 

14,229 

253,038 

176,095 

91,028 

78,586 

170,370 

107,994 

28,829 

40,488 

88,767 

522,638 

296,807 

366,729 

23,632 

38,410 

101,880 



38,456 

8,181 

197,737 

134,163 

63,082 

53,676 

107,095 

79,985 

20,805 

26,674 

66,842 

427,469 

207,806 

270,925 

14,403 

23,568 

74,566 



2,462,247 



1,816,433 



.61S 

.675 
.781 
.762 
.693 
.683 
.629 
.740 
.721 
.669 
.763 
.818 
.700 
.739 
.610 
.614 
.733 



.737 
.721 



N. B. — The first class is made up by adding to the number of men between the ages of 
20 and 36, one-sixth of those between 35 and 46. 



16 



[Assembly 



TABLE B, 

Showing the ratio of enrolled men in the "first class " of the national 
forces in the several districts of JVew York. 



Districts. 


Total males, 


Total maleSj 


First class of 


No. of men first 


Ratio. 


20 to 35. 


35 to 45. 

* 


National Forces. 


class enrolled. 


No.l.... 


14,906 


7,822 


16,210 


11,812 


729 


2 








21,483 
16,586 
30,557 
17,703 
23,447 
18,013 
25,212 
13,359 
12,558 


1,101 


3. .. 








898 


4 








1,159 


5 








853 


6. .. 








1,350 


■7 








918 


8 








1,068 


9. .. 








803 


10.... 


18,334 


7,839 


19,640 


639 


11-... 


11,391 


5,635 


12,330 


10,455 


848 


12 


12,948 


6,659 


14,088 


10,979 


782 


13.-.. 


12,975 


6,445 


14,049 


10,764 


766 


14.... 


17,412 


8,846 


18,886 


13,987 


741 


15..-. 


16,202 


7,928 


17,523 


12,602 


719 


16.... 


10,716 


5,020 


11,553 


7,965 


689 


17.... 


12,994 


5,582 


13,924 


9,843 


*?07 


18.... 


15,234 


7,525 


16,488 


12,305 


746, 


19 


15,779 


7,674 


17,058 


12,690 


744 


20.... 


16,669 


7,927 


17,990 


13,402 


745 


21 


11,852 


6,211 


12,887 


9,190 


713 


22.... 


14,067 


6,920 


15,220 


11,093 


729 


23.... 


14,176 


7,054 


15,351 


11,195 


729 


24 


16,269 


8,068 


17,613 


12,063 


685 


25 


12,908 


6,168 


13,936 


10,435 


749 


26 


13,807 


6,782 


14,937 


11,260 


754 


27-... 


16,343 


8,006 


17,677 


12,850 


727 


28.... 


15,512 


7,799 


16,772 


11,637 


694 


29..-- 


13,473 


6,648 


14,581 


9,332 


640 


30.... 


16,205 


9,038 


17,711 


13,195 


745 


31.--. 


12,645 


6,138 


13,668 


9,497 


693 



No. 96.] 



17 



TABLE C, 

Showing the ratio of men held to service, of those drafted in 1863, 
iti the several States, and in the ■gietropolitan and country districts 
of J\''ew York. 

Number Number 

States. drafted. held to service. Ratio. 

Maine 16,089 4,641 .288 

New Hampshire 8,004 3,109 .388 

Vermont 7,071 2,844 .402 

Massachusetts 32,114 6,303 .196 

Ehode Island 4,271 1,233 ' .289 

Connecticut 11,540 3,950 .341 

New York 100,164 24,569 .245 

Pennsylvania 82,317 27,337 .337 

Delaware 2,454 845 .344* 

Maryland 8,018 863 .108 

District of Columbia 5,198 1,183 .204 

Michigan 6,426 2,573 .400 

Wisconsin 15,290 4,883 .319 

299,556 84,719 .283 

Districts 2 to 9, inclusive of 

New York 26,278 3,502 .133 

22 districts of New York, ex- 

■clusive of above 73,886 21,067 .285 



[Assem. No. 96.] 



18 [Assembly 



TABLE D, 

Showing the quota of the several districts of the State of JYew York, 

of 300,000 men, assigned on the basis of the total population by 
the census of 1860. 

District. Population. Quota. 

1 126,142 1,718 

2 ----- 146,950 2,002 

3 ! -. 132,172 1,800 

4.. 134,766 1,83G 

5 - 129,983 1,771 

6 117,148 1,596 

7 132,524 1,805 

8 - 173,991 2,370 

9 125,241 1,708 

10 - 135,991 1,858 

11. - 96.197 1,310 

12 112,113 1,527 

♦13 -■ 108,311 1,475 

14 148,388 2,021 

15 132,227 1,801 

16 -. - 95,383 1,299 

17 - -.. 114,524 1,560 

18 ^ 129,778 1,768 

19 133,556 1,819 

20 - 138,960 1,893 

21 105,201 1,433 

22 - 119,418 1,627 

23 116,980 1,568 

24 131,664 1,793 

25 104,399 1,422 

26 - - - 114,902 1,565 

27 - -" -.. 135,487 1,845 

28 129,365 1,762 

29 114,553 1,560 

30 141,971 1,934 

31 102,304 1,419 



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